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Landowner signs conservation plan for tract on Barnett Shoals

Posted: Wednesday, November 15, 2000

By Shana GallentineStaff Writer

More than 40 percent of a long-disputed tract of land on Barnett Shoals Road will be permanently protected from development, according to a conservation easement plan signed Tuesday by the property owner.

The agreement provides for almost 24 acres of the 56-acre tract adjacent to Barnett Shoals Elementary School to be held in a permanent conservation easement by the Athens Land Trust, a private, non-profit organization that preserves undisturbed greenspace.

A 125-unit, single-family subdivision will be built on the rest of the property, with an additional 10 acres reserved for community space.

The agreement -- one of only a handful of private conservation easements in Athens-Clarke County -- closes more than a year of debate between property owner Charles Floyd and other area residents.

Last year, the Athens-Clarke County Planning Commission voted to deny Floyd's request for a retirement community on the property amid complaints from residents in nearby subdivisions. Likewise, some neighborhood residents have protested the current plan, saying the high-density development would bring unwanted traffic to an already bustling area.

At Floyd's home Tuesday, however, two neighbors came by to show their support for the conservation easement.

''Given what could happen under the current zoning, this is a win-win situation,'' John Olive, whose Snapfinger Woods home backs up to the property, said. ''The property could have been carved up into half-acre lots, and none of this (greenspace) would be here.''

Including the Floyd property, about 77 acres in Athens-Clarke County have been donated to permanent conservation easements, according to Nancy Stangle of the Athens Land Trust.

Easements are recorded on the deed of the property and transfer with ownership of the land. Property owners who dedicate their land to easements are eligible for tax deductions, Stangle said.

Athens-Clarke government reporter Shana Gallentine can be reached at (706) 208-2230.